Insights & News

Principles or profit – would you turn down an offer of £275m?

Earlier this week it was reported that farmer Robert Worsley had turned down an offer of £275m from a developer seeking to buy his 550 acre farm in rural Sussex. If you were to ask Robert why he turned down the offer, you might expect to hear something like ‘it wasn’t a fair reflection of the value of the land’ or ‘I think they will go higher’. But unusually, Robert’s reason is a matter of principle – he would rather turn down the offer than profit from the “erosion” of the Sussex countryside.

When it comes to offers for your business, there is nearly always a choice to be made – and it is never as simple as who is offering the most money. I regularly see clients choose the second, or even the third, best offer financially on the basis that it would be better for their staff, their clients, or just offered a better fit with their business ethos and principles.

One particular client springs to mind who said: “Some of the customers that we have had over the years have become friends, and we didn’t want to walk away and let the business crumble. That was one of the factors why we didn’t choose some of the companies that made offers.”

Crucially, I am pleased to say, that we were able to give this client a viable choice of acquirers and they were able to select the best fit for them, their staff, and their clients.